A beautiful sunny day ensured a large number of Champion Dads and their children attended our first family BBQ. A cake decorating challenge combined with paper aeroplane making, saw some healthy competition between our dads and their children! A big thanks to Hellers for kindly sponsoring the very popular sausages and to all our Champion Dads for making the event so successful.

FitDads Bootcamp started on Tuesday 10 May and there was an excellent turn out for our first week. Remember that every Tuesday in the courtyard we will be holding our free sessions for all our dads and their children! Fitness gear, water and sneakers a must!

Often we are unwittingly too critical of our kids. Research shows that continuous criticism not only breeds resentment and defiance in kids, but also undermines children’s initiative, self-confidence and sense of purpose.

SO… ‘up your praise to criticism ratio’.

Here’s the bad news – even a 1:1 ratio is not going to cut it, as “balance,” or an equal ratio, of praise and criticism has been shown to be unhealthy, both in marriage and in parent-child relationships.

So, praise your kids often. Research tells us that the optimal ratio of praise to criticism to achieve growth and deepen relationships is around 6:1 (that’s 6 praise to 1 criticism).

Make the praise about things other than your child’s appearance. Try something like;

‘I like the way you’re thinking….’

‘I’m loving how generous you were to Max today…’

‘I’m proud of how you solved that problem with Emma…’

‘I respect your decision on that one’

‘I’m so impressed by the choice you made’.

We are still looking for volunteer Champion Dads to work with children in school for half an hour each week. No previous experience is needed, just a small amount of your precious time. Email Mr Wilcock at dwilcock@mhp.school.nz for more details.

Mission Heights Primary School recently went to Eastern Beach to clean up litter. Read more here; http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/eastern-courier/90351953/students-rid-eastern-beach-of-rubbish